Money added to state budget to fight invasive water weed

BATON ROUGE — An invasive plant that is choking waterways in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes might soon be gobbled up by something called the “WaterMower.”

Jeremy AlfordCapitol Correspondent

BATON ROUGE — An invasive plant that is choking waterways in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes might soon be gobbled up by something called the “WaterMower.” The news comes courtesy of a last-minute $200,000 amendment to the state budget lawmakers passed during the regular session that adjourned last week. It was one of the many compromise pieces in the final budget that brought together differing factions in the House, which appeared divided on the spending plan until the session's final moments. “Working with the speaker and everyone else, I really thought this was an important issue for the entire state,” said Rep. Patrick Williams, D-Shreveport, who negotiated the budget rider. He said the money will be used by the state to lease and research the WaterMower.Created by inventor John Bourque, the machine was pitched to lawmakers this session by Williams as a possible solution to giant salvinia, an aquatic weed that is choking rivers, canals and bayous around Louisiana.Williams said he was unsure what area of the state would benefit from the mower money.Locally, scientists with the LSU AgCenter have had some success in Terrebonne Parish using special weevils to attack the invasive plant. Weevils are a type of beetle that can be quite destructive to certain crops. Along Bayou Lafourche, officials with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries have also been spraying giant salvinia with herbicides. The WaterMower, however, takes more of a direct approach to the challenges related to the floating plant. Williams said the mower eradicates salvinia immediately by reducing it to a “lifeless-pulp.”A red-white-and-blue painted machine, the mower sits on a water-float and has a conveyor belt that scoops up salvinia, pushes it into a blender-like shredder and then spits it out. “The WaterMower proves to be an effective, efficient and, most importantly, an environmentally friendly solution, and I feel it is an option that needs to be explored,” Williams said.It wouldn't be the first time the state tried out machinery on the plant. Alex Perret, aquatic plant control coordinator for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, said in a news release that the state has used mechanical controls before with draw-downs and water fluctuations.Williams said the department has also considered cutting down bald cypresses, the state tree, which some say protect salvinia.The building of dams has been tried as well, since it allows more water to drain during draw-downs. Plus, it permits the placement of a skimming device to catch the plants as they flow through.Most recently, the department has introduced the use of herbicides such as Galleon, which Williams said can cost more than $1,800 a gallon.He added residents near locations where it has been applied blame it for a recent color change in affected fish and argue it dilutes too quickly.The salvinia plant, which originated in South America and has reportedly spread to the southern United States through the horticultural market, interferes with Louisiana's recreational and commercial industries, lawmakers complained this session.It cuts off nutrients and oxygen to freshwater fish and wreaks havoc on turbines, they said.The weed can likewise double in area in four to five days and choke off water access to an entire lake, Williams said.